


A Disproportionately Large act of Heroism

by Jukingbox



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Adventure, Gen, Heroism, One Shot, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-10
Updated: 2018-01-10
Packaged: 2019-03-03 04:53:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13333914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jukingbox/pseuds/Jukingbox
Summary: A quick requestThe seldom told story of the Little Bird That Carries You Over A Disproportionately Small Gap.And how his encounter with Frisk saved the underground.





	A Disproportionately Large act of Heroism

Very little else but the sound of flowing streams and cascading water could ever be heard at any time in Waterfall. There wasn’t much ‘action’ or ‘unrest’ to speak of at any given time, save for the few times Undyne had set her house on fire. Same could be said for most of the Underground, really. Things never seemed to change in the subterranean world of monsters.

Perhaps, it was that kind of mindset that permitted only so many people to be called ‘Heroes,’ and even then, mostly in contexts long past, or yet to come. Old Gerson was one on account of his past war service, and Undyne on the role expected of her. Asgore was undoubtedly the most well-known, and the most lauded among them: The King under the Mountain, the one who would free everyone, the Underground’s greatest hero (though for many years, both preceding and following the Breaking of the Barrier, ‘hero’ would be the last word he’d use to describe himself).

Still, there was always one hero who always went unsung. From the day he hatched to the day the barrier was toppled, his service would go unappreciated. Unnoticed. Seemingly insignificant.

But as a young human named Frisk would attest, unsung does not mean unimportant.

They say that Monsterkind was saved when Frisk broke the barrier, but there would always be a silent agreement between them and our hero, that the underground was saved on the day they met.

_______________

It was like any other ordinary day, the doldrums riding out between indistinguishable days for most monsters.

All of course, save for the Little Bird.

He went by no other name, and so we can only ever address him as such in our little story.

That little bird stood by his post, every day after getting up from his nest, up in one of the stalactites hanging over Waterfall. The same ripples ran past him in the calm water, the same small, glowing insects flying from off its surface, the same patches of glowing grass marking his station.

The same disproportionately small gap standing before him, water flowing endlessly therein.

It had been a while since someone had inquired of his help, to cross in safety and perfect dryness. The days went unnumbered. He had stopped keeping count a long time ago, but it did not dishearten him. It was better for the underground to have him and not need him than need him and not have him.

His was a perpetual case of hoping for something and expecting nothing, yet one day, all of that changed out of nowhere.

There were rumors circulating around Waterfall from Snowdin. An unexpected guest had shown up, to everyone’s complete surprise. Some were unsure of what they were. There was some hearsay of the guest being a human, which gave way to further talk excitement about freedom, anticipation of the barrier’s downfall. The Little bird took them all in stride as he heard those rumors whispered from behind him. He was unsure of what to make of any of it, seeing as how it had been so, so long since a human had fallen. In fact, it had been so long, that few could remember what they looked like to begin with.

He was pondering upon the matter when he heard footsteps behind him. The sound alone sent enough excitement through his tiny frame that his feathers ruffled and rendered him into a little yellow ball of fluff. Who could it be? It couldn’t be Undyne or Aaron. They could swim, and had no need of his services anymore, not that they had now grown, and their arms and legs could now overpower the stream. It wasn’t Woshua, as the smell of detergent was absent from the muggy air. It was always nice to see them and hear them say ‘hello’ every once in a while, but oh how he longed to serve them.

He turned around, and was met with a pleasant surprise.

It was a child.

He had never seen this one before. They wore a striped shirt like the other one he had helped in the past, but this one had arms, and hair on their head instead of spines.

Could it be the human?

He himself had never seen one with his waking eyes, but as the thought came into his mind, it almost immediately evaporated when he noticed the child staring into the gap.

How were they ever going to cross?

The Little Bird knew how.

A few soft chirps went forth from his humble beak. The child looked at him with a cocked head, seemingly unable to understand him. He cheeped a little more, hoping to get his message across.

As the child smiled, he knew something was clicking.

And so, Frisk readied themselves as the Little Bird took off and landed firmly on their head. His little legs were strong, and with the aid of some magic that only he knew, he secured his claws and carried their weight without digging in too hard. He flapped his little wings and pumped his little lungs. He shut his little eyes in concentration, for he already knew the way.

With that determination burning with the air in his chest, he took off. The grass below him shrank and shrank as he ascended with Frisk in tow, all the way up to a great height of about sixteen feet in the air. The child was speechless at the grand vistas of flight, and they remained so until the journey was over.

But it was far form over. The trip was long and arduous. To this day, the Little Bird will tell you about his early trips, and how it would sometimes take an hour to cross the gap, but by the time he had met Frisk, he was experienced. He knew how to handle both a squirming, rambunctious kid like Undyne, and a calm, well-mannered child like Frisk. Still, past his shut eyelids, he could see the blue light from underneath him. He could not fail now, for the rough waters below, churning at over a fifth of a knot, rushed below him. He could not, would not let this child down.

He would not let anyone down.

Maybe it was the passage of the years and the experience he had accrued, but the trip was almost over as soon as it had begun. The blue light of Waterfall’s luminescent waters faded from his lidded sight, and, knowing he had reached his destination, he touched down. The Child spread their legs as they touched down, getting a good footing before the Little Bird let go. He always made sure they had gotten their footing before releasing his passengers.

 

With that, he let go, and fluttered down to the ground. There was a moment where he looked back at his passenger. They smiled at him. They said not a word. Not a ‘thank you’ or any such verbal display of gratitude. He didn’t need it. That smile was the best thanks they could give, and the best the Little Bird could ever want to receive.

 

He wouldn’t see them again for a long time, nor would his encounter with them go down in history with the breaking of the Barrier, and all the Human’s friends who were there with them.

True heroes however, do not need nor want an obituary in the local paper. They do not seek praise, nor do they revel in it. The doers of deeds do them not for the sake of popularity, but for the sake of their fellow beings. They do what they do out of love, out of selflessness, out of a desire to spread happiness and peace wherever they go.

And though you don’t see him in Frisk’s childhood pictures next to Asgore or Toriel, or Undyne or any of the others, rest assured that the Last Human never forgot, and will never forget to cherish that Little Bird. To this day, either of them will tell you. To this day, both will attest to the importance of that meeting, of that first and last flight together.

Both will always cherish that moment.

 

** THE END **


End file.
